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The semi-finals reach their end, and this is the most crucial stage of all. Which four of the five remaining cooks have what it takes to get that coveted place in Finals Week?

Anna and Grace have two incredibly demanding tasks up their sleeves, and they will want to see glimpses of championship-winning food in all the plates delivered.

The judges have invited a true master of his craft to set the first brief, trailblazing pastry chef Philip Khoury, who spent six years working as head pastry chef of Harrods’ famous food hall and redefined baking without using eggs or dairy. Pastry is a field that strikes fear in many professional chefs, never mind amateurs, so the cooks will need their wits about them as they are asked to recreate one of Philip’s signature desserts: dawn of a tropical day. Elements of the dessert include a coconut crémeux, mango and lime compote, coconut sponge, whipped coconut cream, a passion fruit gel and chocolate shavings. The semi-finalists will need to follow Philip’s recipe to the letter, as every step of the process is integral to success. Technical in the extreme, it’s also unlikely the contestants have created anything similar before, especially a dessert that is totally plant-based. The amateurs will have two hours and 15 minutes, which sounds a lot, but is just enough time to create something of this magnitude, but will it have the look, taste and level of skill to impress Philip and the judges? Success here might make all the difference when it comes to Anna and Grace’s final judging.

The last semi-final challenge will be for five cooks to prepare one dish worthy of a MasterChef finalist and a place in the final four. Anna and Grace won’t be taking this decision lightly. They’ve invited three esteemed food critics to taste the cook’s creations: Jimi Famurewa, William Sitwell and Xanthe Clay. This dish will need to have every ounce of skill that the cooks can muster and be twinned with flawless execution. Nothing will escape the critics’ and judges’ gazes.

Just 90 minutes stand between the amateurs and a place in Finals Week, and nobody will want to miss out on what will quite simply be the opportunity of a lifetime. But who has what it takes?